


Invitation

by Angelise (angelise7)



Category: NCIS
Genre: Birthday, Children, Humor, M/M, Mention of past relationship for Tony - I'm pretty sure you can guess who, Pets, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-10
Updated: 2016-01-10
Packaged: 2018-05-13 01:12:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5688862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelise7/pseuds/Angelise
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An innocent invitation to a birthday brings our two men together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Invitation

 

 

Jethro was taking his first sip of coffee when the phone rang.

“Gibbs.”

“Top of the morning to ya, Bossman, and what a glorious morning it is!”

Jethro carefully sat down his mug and pinched the bridge of his nose. It was too damn early for Tony’s nonsense. He struggled to take several deep, calming breaths, but the maneuver didn’t work. He glared at the phone instead.

How in the hell could anyone in their right mind be that damn cheerful so early in the morning? Tony obviously could and if that wasn’t reason enough for a slap to the head then he didn’t know what was. He made a mental note to deliver the punishment the second he laid eyes on the man.

“It’s six am, DiNozzo,” he barked. “What could you possibly want at this hour?” He picked up his mug of steaming Jamaican brew and squinted grumpily at the first vestiges of sunlight stealing their way through his kitchen window.

“Sounds like someone got up on the wrong side of the bed,” Tony declared.

Jethro had no doubt the statement had been said with the famous DiNozzo smirk and that alone warranted another head slap.

Making a second mental note, he closed his eyes and inhaled the aromatic fumes that never failed to jumpstart his day. Once his brain was firing on all cylinders, he reflected on the smart-aleck response Tony had just made.

 _It will always be the wrong side_ _of the bed, Tony,_ _as long as it’s missing the warm, welcoming presence of your damn fine body._

Unwilling to stray too far into what was labeled as forbidden territory, he snapped his eyes open, took another swallow of coffee and got on with the disagreeable reality of his life.

“Cut the chatter, DiNozzo. What do you want?”

“I need a ride to work, Boss. And before you even ask, yes, I did call around. Kate’s at that Homeland Security conference, remember? Ducky’s already at work, and well, you don’t even want to hear the excuse Abby and McGee handed me. Let’s just say I’ll never look at a set of handcuffs in quite the same way.”

“Abby and McGee?” Jethro took a sip of coffee and vainly tried to block the image that rose to mind. “Are you---”

Tony cut him off. “You don’t want to go there, Boss. Believe you me.”

He finished off his first shot of caffeine. He stared at the coffee pot, considered the passenger he would have to endure on his way to work and quickly refilled his cup to the brim. Tony was long-winded, to say the least, and it wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy listening to the man; he did. Tony was extremely well-versed on a variety of subjects and never lacked for something to say. This particular morning though, he simply wasn’t sure he could deal with both the chatter and the close proximity of the charismatic agent, at least not without a double dose, no make that a **triple** dose of caffeine in his system. 

“As I was about to say before being interrupted,” he forced out through teeth that had the annoying habit of clenching whenever Tony was around. “Are you ready, DiNozzo?” he went on to ask.  “ ‘Cause I’ll be at your place in fifteen minutes. Don’t keep me waiting.”

“Thanks, Boss! You’re the man!”

He heard Tony fumble with the phone. The next sound to come over the line was that of a shower being turned on. It brought to mind an image he could have lived his entire life without.

“Oh, and Gibbs?” Tony’s voice tickled his ear once more. “Remind me to borrow twenty bucks from Ducky so that I can treat you to lunch. You like Italian, right?”

Jethro made the mistake of glancing down and noted the unmistakable bulge destroying the line of his slacks. The sight of his arousal did nothing to restore his humour.

“DiNozzo, the clock has started.”

“Come and get me, Boss,” Tony replied. “I’ll be waiting.”

Jethro nearly choked on his coffee when a new image rose to mind. Thankfully Tony was no longer on the line and didn’t hear the curses he couldn’t silence.

 _‘Come and get me,’_ Tony had said.

Jethro shook his head. “If you only knew, DiNozzo,” he muttered. “If you only knew.”

 

+++++++

 

Jethro pulled into a parking spot in front of Tony’s newly purchased condo exactly 13 and a half minutes after he’d hung up the phone. Disembarking his vehicle, he observed the large oil stain marring the concrete where Tony normally parked his car. The reason behind his co-worker’s request for a ride became glaringly apparent.

“Did someone forget a scheduled maintenance check?” he asked the oily mess.

Unexpected ear-splitting expletives disturbed the early fall morning’s silence. He turned his attention toward the noise and discovered Tony’s favorite mode of transportation two doors down. Various components of the Corvette’s engine lay on the ground with a giant of a man towering over them. Wiping his oil-stained hands on a rag that was just as dirty as his tattered overalls, the stranger kicked what looked to be an air filter and started cursing all over again. Jethro couldn’t help but smile. It seemed the man was not at all impressed with his neighbor’s mechanical thoughtlessness.

Chuckling, Jethro made his way up the walk and found the door to Tony’s home blocked by a pint-size preschooler. That in itself was strange enough; Tony had never struck him as someone who enjoyed the company of children. What was even stranger was the fact that the child was dressed from head to toe in clothing the color of Pepto-Bismol. Everything was pink, from the lopsided bow in her raven hair to the scuffed tennis shoes on her feet that, from the looks of it, desperately needed a good washing.

A welcoming smile, albeit suspicious, was directed at him, and he felt an immediate tightness in his chest. The crooked grin, the missing front tooth, the scrutinizing gaze reminded him of his daughter and even though he had long come to grips with her death, thoughts of her still had the power to put his heart on hold.

“Morning,” he offered in greeting once his emotions were firmly back under control.

Tony’s guardian angel didn’t budge an inch, and Jethro wisely took a step back when piercing green eyes took his measure with one glance.

“Who are you?”

The girl’s squeaky voice grated on his nerves, and he found himself wishing he had taken the time to stop by Starbucks on the way over. “Jethro Gibbs. And who might you be?”

“Sallie Wedgeworth.”

Introductions complete, he peered inside the open front door and frowned when he was unable to locate his absent colleague. He glanced at his watch.

“Tony’s hunting for Alexander, just in case you’re wondering.”

He turned his gaze back to the girl and guessed her to be no older than four or five. “And just who is Alexander?”

“My pet tarantula,” Sallie announced matter-of-factly. Swiping at what looked like donut powder clinging to her lips, the young girl explained, “Tony was babysitting him while Mom and I were on vacation.”

For some reason the thought of Tony playing nursemaid to a tarantula did not sit well with him. Rats, snakes, scorpions, those he could handle, but spiders? He shuddered slightly and then shuddered again when his mind recalled the girl’s earlier statement. _‘Tony’s **hunting** for Alexander.’_

He immediately moved a step back and then another one, just for good measure. “Do you think it’s wise to have the front door open?”

Sally shook her head, the action causing her waist-length ponytail to swing wildly back and forth. “Nah. I’ll catch him if he comes this way.”

Jethro had his doubts but kept that opinion to himself. “I’m glad to hear it,” he said and was rewarded with a confident smile.

Tapping his hand impatiently against his thigh, he counted off the minutes. Exactly sixty seconds passed, and he was on the verge of yelling for Tony to get his ass outside when his diminutive companion piped up with a question that sent his lower jaw to the pavement below in zero seconds flat.

“Are you Tony’s new boyfriend?” Sallie asked.

“Excuse me?”

Tightening her grip on the pink-haired Barbie doll she held in one hand, Sallie rose to her feet and took a good look around. She then leaned forward and whispered in a voice that could be clearly heard in the next county, “I asked if you were Tony’s new boyfriend.”

Not waiting for an answer, she skipped down the three steps leading away from Tony’s door and stopped directly in front of him. Staring up at him, she absently combed her fingers through her long ponytail. “Nick was Tony’s last boyfriend, but he had to move to Las Vegas. Did you know Nick?”

Stunned by the information just relayed to him, Jethro could only shake his head. Not only did he not know Nick, but he clearly didn’t know Tony was well as he thought he did.

Forcing his brain to form a coherent sentence, he finally said, “Can’t say I had the pleasure of making his acquaintance.”

“Nick was the best. Always inviting me and Alexander over, and letting us help him make cookies.” Sallie stopped tugging on her ponytail and aimed a hopeful smile at him. “He made the gooiest chocolate chip-peanut butter cookies in the world. Can you make chocolate chip-peanut butter cookies?”

Jethro knew his answer would determine his worth as a human being, and unfortunately, he was about to be found seriously lacking. “Sorry. Cooking’s not my specialty.” Grilling a steak over the flames in his fireplace, yes, that he could do but cookies? No. That had been a Shannon specialty. He briefly closed his eyes and forced back the memories.

Sallie shook her head in dismay while sharing a sympathetic look with him. “Too bad. Tony **really** loves chocolate chip-peanut butter cookies. They’re his most favorite in the whole world.”

Thoughts of warm, melt-in-your mouth cookie crumbs scattered all over Tony’s naked body brought about an instant reaction that flushed his cheeks with the heat of embarrassment. Clearing his throat and his traitorous mind, he awkwardly shifted his stance. “I’m guessing they’re your favorite cookies, also,” he inquired of his companion.

“You bet!” Sallie enthused. “The gooier the better.”

“I’ll have to take your word on that.”

Hearing Tony’s voice, he listened as several not-so-very-nice names were heaped upon the head of the missing Alexander. He looked past Sallie in time to see a half-dressed, shoeless Tony go racing through the living room area.

“You know my birthday’s tomorrow,” Sallie announced out of the blue, “and Tony’s invited me over for milk and cupcakes. Are you going to be there?” The young girl didn’t wait for an answer. “ ‘Cause you know, if you’re Tony’s boyfriend, you just have to be at the party. And don’t forget to bring a present. It’s rude to come to a birthday party without a present. Did you know that?”

Caught by surprise at the lightening quick change of subject, Jethro was trying to formulate an answer but had not even gotten his mouth open before Sallie started in on him again.

“The party’s at five. That’s big hand on the twelve and little hand on the five. And don’t be late. I’ve got to be back home by six ‘cause Mom’s taking me to _Chuckie Cheese_ for my real birthday party.”

Sallie shook a warning finger at him. “You and Tony can come to that party too but only if you promise not to do any of that kissy-pooh stuff like him and Nick did last year. My big brother says it’s gross for guys to kiss each other, and I agree. I think kissing is gross, period, and I don’t understand why adults have to do it all the time. Yuck!”

Jethro dropped his keys. Sallie grabbed them up before he could move a muscle and dumped them in his outstretched hand. Mumbling his thanks, he stared at her as if she’d suddenly grown two heads. Had he actually heard the little girl correctly? Tony? Kissing another guy while out in public?

He pressed the heels of his palms against his eyes in an attempt to control the thoughts that were now racing around his brain at mach ten.

 _Where in the world have I been all this time? Tony’s gay? How in the hell did I miss the signs? It takes one to know one, right?_ He looked up at the sky for the answers he had evidently failed to notice. _Maybe my gaydar has gone on the blink?_

 _No_ , that annoyingly persistent voice inside his head answered, the one that sounded a lot like his second wife -- the only woman to guess he was not as straight as he pretended to be.

 _Me thinks you were just too afraid to look,_ the voice accused him. _Too afraid of discovering that the one person missing from your heart and your bed has been standing right in front of you all this time. Face it, Jethro, you’ve wanted Tony from day one and have been too damn wrapped up in those rules of yours to go after him. What are you going to do now, hotshot, now that you know Tony’s playing on the same team as you?_

Opening eyes he didn’t realize he had closed, Jethro found himself face to face with one grinning Anthony DiNozzo. _God help me_ , he prayed.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Boss. Hope Sallie didn’t talk your ear off.”

Jethro watched as the girl in question walked across Tony’s miniscule front yard to the condo next door, cooing each step of the way at her now caged pet tarantula. “Who in their right mind would give their daughter a spider for a pet?”

“It’s not poisonous, if that’s what’s got you worried.” Tony bent down and collected the pink hair ribbon lying on the welcome mat. He tossed it inside before closing and locking the door behind him. “Her dad was an avid collector of strange and unusual insects,” he informed Jethro. “And strange as it seems, Sallie’s inherited his passion for the little creepy crawlies.”

“Was?” He followed Tony to where he had parked his SUV. He felt his cheeks again flame with heat when he realized he’d been checking out his colleague’s ass. Embarrassment aside, it went without saying that the ass in question was damn fine and no doubt, would provide him with the ride of his life.

Lost in thoughts of ribbed versus studded condoms and which type Tony preferred, Jethro nearly stumbled into the younger man. His dick was extremely unhappy once it was denied cuddle time with the tightly encased contours of said fine ass and promptly informed him of its displeasure by spitting on his bvds. Jethro took a moment to thank whatever guardian angel had insisted he wear dark-coloured slacks that morning.

“What happened to her father?” he asked, indicating Sallie’s home with a nod of his head.

Tony returned the enthusiastic wave being directed at him by his young neighbor before answering. “He was killed in a car accident last year.” 

Jethro also found himself on the receiving end of Sallie’s animated good-byes. Without hesitation, he returned the girl’s wave and added a smile of genuine caring that probably would have shocked Tony had he seen it. “She seems to be very well-adjusted,” he noted.

Tony laughed as he buckled himself in. “It’s still early in the day, Boss. You ain't seen nothing yet. Once Sallie’s had her morning bowl of Frosted Fruit Loops, there is no stopping her. She’s like the Energizer Bunny on speed, and I can’t even begin to understand how her mother. . . .”

Putting his vehicle into gear, Jethro glanced at Tony and took a moment to enjoy the view while listening to him ramble on about his next-door neighbours. _You’re right, DiNozzo, I **haven’t** seen nothing yet. Maybe it’s time to take a closer look._

 

++++++

 

“Sallie, Alexander does not want his own cupcake. Take my word for it.” Tony rescued the glass of milk that was perched precariously close to his guest’s elbow.

“That’s the same thing your boyfriend said yesterday morning. ‘Take my word for it.’ What does it mean?” Sallie plopped her pet spider back inside his cage and happily stuffed her mouth with the rejected cupcake. “Tony, you spilled your milk. Want me to go get some paper towels?”

He stared at the widening pool of white spreading across his dining room floor and decided his hearing had gone on the blitz again. _Explosives will do that to you_ , he thought. _Screw with your hearing, make you hear things you know you couldn’t possibly have heard._

_Gibbs? My boyfriend? Don’t think so. Wish so but then if wishes were horses, I wouldn’t have had to ask for a ride to work yesterday._

“Here ya go, Tony.”

A huge, as in the-whole-roll huge, wad of paper towels was thrust at him. He reluctantly focused his traitorous thoughts on the task at hand and spent the next several minutes mopping up every drop of milk, including the trail of damp footprints that led to and from his kitchen. “Thanks, Midget. Don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“I invited your boyfriend to our milk and cupcake party,” Sallie informed Tony. “Hope he comes and brings me a big present. I told him to bring one, is that okay? You know that’s a major rule when it comes to birthdays. Can’t break that rule, right, Tony?”

The birthday girl fluffed out the skirt of her new dress before sitting down to finish the chocolate cupcake he had decorated especially for her. “Do you think he’ll like my new dress? I told Mom I wanted a pink dress, but she said I had enough pink stuff already. Blue’s okay, but I like pink best. What do you think?”

Tony quickly glanced at his watch and prayed Sallie’s mother wouldn’t mind leaving for the restaurant a little ahead of schedule. “As you know, pink rules, Sallie, but you do look quite beautiful in blue. Maybe you should give that color a try every now and then.”

He made a show of looking at the clock perched high on the wall above the dining room table, high enough not to be seen by observant five-year-old eyes. “Would you look at the time? Better finish up that cupcake, Missy. It’s time to go find your mother.”

“Silly man. Can’t you tell time?” Sallie held out her arm and showed Tony her brand new Barbie watch. “The big hand is not on the twelve yet. We’ve still got . . . ,” Sallie painstakingly counted up the minutes remaining, “eighteen, nineteen, twenty whole minutes before it’s time to go to _Chuckie Cheese_. Maybe just enough time for one more cupcake?”

Innocent green eyes that would have put a beagle puppy to shame looked up at him, and he handed over his untouched cupcake without argument, never once considering how it would ruin Sallie’s appetite for later. All of his thoughts were held hostage by the possibility of Gibbs showing up on his doorstep, no doubt, to kill him.

Gibbs? His boyfriend. His fucking boyfriend? Tony buried his face in his hands and groaned. What **exactly** had Sallie told his boss?

He sat up and tilted back his chair. It allowed him to see down the hallway and toward the foyer. He didn’t think there was any incriminating evidence that would alert someone as to the truth of his sexuality, but he checked just to be sure. That one time Nick had left out his copy of _Malibu Pool Boys_ was the reason they now both owned stock in Duncan Hines. He couldn’t even begin to count the number of chocolate chip-peanut butter cookies they’d had to ply Sallie with in order to buy her silence. Hell, he was still making the damn cookies, and not up to specs according to his persnickety neighbor.

Turning his thoughts back to Gibbs, he suddenly realized that for the past 24 hours his boss had been looking at him in a most uncharacteristic manner. And if he hadn’t been so caught up in the story he’d been telling Ducky on their way downstairs to Autopsy this morning, he would have sworn Gibbs had deliberately brushed up against him upon entering the elevator. His ass had thoroughly enjoyed the brief contact and had overloaded his imagination with countless illicit images. This, of course, had led to major daydreams, the details of which Kate and McGee had tried to weasel out of him the entire day.

Tony examined Sallie’s bent head and let go with a dejected sigh. Daydreams were one thing; reality was something else entirely. Regrettably his current reality was jerking off in the shower and going to bed alone with only his pillow to keep him company.

Not exactly the future he’d envisioned for himself upon meeting Leroy Jethro Gibbs. His gaydar had started pinging the second he’d laid eyes upon the former Marine, and yet, it had taken the local grapevine all of one week to shoot down every one of his expectations he’d had regarding his new boss. Not only that, but his dashed hopes had been the reason his ass had ended up in Nick’s bed. It wasn’t the bed he exactly wanted to sleep in, but it was better than his own.

He glanced through to doorway that connected dining room to kitchen. He could plainly see the photograph he’d tacked to the fridge several weeks ago. It was a group photo of his colleagues at NCIS. A copy resided on his nightstand, but this one had been cropped. It featured one specific person, the person about to darken his doorstep.

“Sallie? Exactly what did you and Gibbs talk about yes---”

“Doorbell, Tony! Want me to get it?”

He was out of his chair and heading for the door before Sallie could move a muscle. A groan of disbelief slipped out when he looked through the security peephole and saw who was standing on the other side.

His morning was about to get a hundred times worse or by some unforeseen miracle, ‘Please, God. Please, God. Please, God.’ better.

“Shit.”

“Don’t let my mom hear you say that,” Sallie admonished with a slap to his behind. “She’ll wash your mouth out with soap. Just ask Kenny. He said a bad word last week, and he’s still gagging from the taste.”

Sallie hooked one of his belt loops with a finger and tugged. “You want me to tell you what bad word Kenny said? I’ll tell you but you have to promise not to wash my mouth out with soap. Alexander wouldn’t like you doing that, you know. Besides, it’s not like I’m saying the word. I’m only repeating it and that’s different, right? I mean if I actually . . .”

Plastering a welcoming smile on his face, he threw open the door. “Bossman! What’s got you visiting my neck of the woods this time of the day?”

An answer was not forthcoming but a very large, perfectly wrapped present was. Greedy hands forced their way between his body and the door and demanded immediate satisfaction. Wisely, Gibbs handed over the present, and both of them grimaced at the eardrum-shattering squeals that erupted.

Sallie raced down the hallway to show Alexander her present. Once her vocal exuberance had died down to a tolerable level, he turned back to Gibbs and discovered the man had invaded his personal space in a major way.

“Uh, Gibbs?” Clearing the squeak of bewilderment from his voice, he couldn’t stop himself; he looked his fill of the man he wanted with every red blood cell in his body which, at that moment, were rushing south of the equator.

Licking the sweat from his upper lip, he nervously looked up and saw the hand resting incredibly close to where his was gripping the doorjamb. He lost the ability to breathe when a callused thumb lightly brushed across knuckles that were turning white.

“Sallie invited me to the party,” Gibbs informed him in that straightforward voice of his. “Hope you don’t mind.”

Mind? Mind? Did Doris Day in _Touch of Mink_ mind when Gary Grant showed up and rescued her from that sleezoid, Beasley? Did Jane Seymour in _Somewhere in Time_ mind when Christopher Reeves traveled back from the future to meet her? Did _Pretty Woman_ , Julia Roberts, mind when Richard Gere showed up in a limo, declaring his undying love and affection?  Mind? Mind? Hell, no, he didn’t mind!

He swallowed noisily. “Uh.”

Kate’s nagging voice slapped him upside the head.

_For God’s sake, Tony. Quit acting like a moron. Gibbs is standing on your doorstep, staring at you like you’re the only thing on the menu, and he’s starved to death. Do something!_

Staring at me?

Tony looked Gibbs straight in the face and frowned in confusion when he saw a strange, yet familiar fire burning in the man’s ocean blue eyes. He’d seen that particular fire before, in Nick’s eyes when they were making love. It sure as hell couldn’t be the same with Gibbs. No way, Hosea. Maybe his boss had indigestion?

“Uh, yeah, I mean, no!” Shaking his head, he indicated the hallway behind him with a wave of his hand. “No, I don’t mind. Sallie just forgot to tell me, that’s all.”

Gibbs took a step forward. Tony dropped his gaze and his jaw when a hand grazed his hip. “She also invited me to her real birthday party,” his boss informed him. “Is that invitation still open?”

The hand that had been toying with his hip went on the move and finally settled in the small of his back. Tony blushed furiously but didn’t move. “Why don’t you ask her yourself? She’s in charge.”

On the pretence of calling out to their unseen guest of honour, Gibbs moved closer, and when he spoke, Tony could feel the man’s breath drift lazily across his cheek. “Sallie? Do you still want me to come to your birthday party?”

“You bet!”

Tony felt his knees start to buckle. He hurriedly shifted his hold so that he clung to both sides of the doorframe which, consequently, provided Gibbs with complete access to his trembling body, a fact that did not go unheeded by his teamleader. He groaned when a mountain of exceedingly hard evidence bumped into him.

“Tony! Tony! Look what your boyfriend got me? Isn’t it the coolest thing you’ve ever seen?” Sallie held up the giant ant farm Gibbs had purchased for her. “Alexander is gonna **love** watching all these ants.”

Tony gnawed on his bottom lip and contemplated how much longer his legs would hold him upright. Of course, if Gibbs kept looking at him like he was a Porterhouse steak, he’d be more than happy to lie down on the floor as long as Gibbs was agreeable to slathering him with A-1 steak sauce and eating him alive.

“Aren’t you glad I invited your boyfriend to my birthday party, Tony?”

 _I’m glad, my heart is glad and my dick sure as hell is glad_.

He wisely kept his mouth shut and merely nodded his head.

“Now like I told you yesterday,” Sallie pointed an icing-coated finger at Gibbs, “none of that kissy-pooh stuff at _Chuckie Cheese_. If you gotta kiss, you better do it now. And don’t let Kenny see ya doin’ it. He’ll start saying stuff, and the next thing you know, Mom’ll have to wash his mouth out with soap again, and he won’t be able to eat any pizza, and you know how much he loves pizza.”

Sally gave her new present a hard tap and laughed with fiendish glee when the ants went scurrying. “Now me, I like ice cream. Chocolate ice cream with nuts and sprinkles and lots of whipped cream on top. Do you think Mom will let us go for ice cream after the party? I bet she would if you asked her, Tony. She likes you. A lot.”

Walking back toward the dining room, Sallie continued to prattle on about how many different flavors of ice cream there were and how much Alexander preferred chocolate over every other kind. Tony valiantly tried to keep up with his visitor’s ongoing commentary, but the way Gibbs was staring at his mouth proved a major distraction, he finally had to admit defeat.

“Boss, I. . .”

Gibbs tapped him on the nose before dragging an index finger down his throat and resting it against his carotid artery. His boss smiled smugly, and Tony knew without a doubt Gibbs could feel the way his pulse was pounding out of control.

“You heard the young lady, DiNozzo,” Gibbs said. “None of that kind of stuff at the restaurant. Therefore, we should. . .”

“Should what, Boss?” He nearly went cross-eyed focusing on the barely smiling mouth that was moving way too close for comfort.

“Should take care of that particular piece of business right now, wouldn’t you agree?”

He felt his knees buckle and was downright thankful for the firm grip Gibbs had on his belt. If the man’s hand stayed put, he’d remain on his feet. It was bad enough he wasn’t making any sense. No use acting the wuss and swoon like he’d done when Nick had first kissed him. Of course, if he did swoon, Gibbs, being the gentleman he was, would catch him and possibly hold him close to that magnificent chest of his. He might even loosen any and all constrictive clothing and boy, would that be another reason to . . .

“DiNozzo.”

He tore his gaze away from the finger tapping impatiently on his belt buckle. “Yeah, Boss?”

“In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a child present. This is going no further than a kiss. Do you hear what I’m saying?”

"Right, Boss. Just kissing. Sounds good. No problem. If that’s what you want, then I’m more than willing to . . . umph.”

Shutting up was good, too, he thought minutes later. Of course, shutting up while getting horizontal, like, on the couch maybe, would be even a thousand times better. Give him and Gibbs lots of room to get better acquainted, not to mention . . .

“ **TOOOONYYYY**!!!! Alexander’s missing!!!!”

 

~finis~

**Author's Note:**

> As always, thanks so very much for reading. I'm grateful for all kudos and comments. 
> 
> Also, [you can follow me and my eclectic tastes on Tumblr!](http://angelise7.tumblr.com/)


End file.
